Lepisosteiformes
| Description | Gars are members of the Lepisosteiformes (or Semionotiformes), an ancient holosteian order of ray-finned fish; fossils from this order are known from the Late Jurassic onwards. The family Lepisosteidae includes seven living species of fish in two genera that inhabit fresh, brackish, and occasionally marine, waters of eastern North America, Central America and the Caribbean islands. Gars have elongated bodies that are heavily armored with ganoid scales, and fronted by similarly elongated jaws filled with long, sharp teeth. Gars are sometimes referred to as "garpike," but are not related to pike, which are in the fish family Esocidae. All of the gars are relatively large fish, but the alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula) is the largest - the alligator gar often grows to a length of over 2 m (6.5 ft) and a weight of over 45 kg (100 lb), and specimens of up to 3 m (9.8 ft) in length have been reported. Unusually, their vascularised swim bladders can function as lungs, and most gars surface periodically to take a gulp of air. Gar flesh is edible and the hard skin and scales of gars are used by humans, but gar eggs are highly toxic. From Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepisosteiformes, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Rank | order | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (GBIF) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Actinopterygii : Lepisosteiformes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (PBDB) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Actinopteri : Lepisosteiformes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomic Status (GBIF) | accepted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification (PBDB,GBIF) |
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| Common Name | gar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scientific Name | Lepisosteiformes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opinions (PBDB) |
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| Status (PBDB) | extant | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxon Size (PBDB) | 73 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Extant Size (PBDB) | 9 (12%) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Recorded Appearance | 247 - 242 Ma Triassic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Environment | freshwater | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motility | actively mobile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diet | carnivore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taphonomy | phosphatic (based on Vertebrata) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Primary Reference (PBDB) | J. Peng, A. P. Russell, and D. B. Brinkman. 2001. Vertebrate microsite assemblages (exclusive of mammals) from the Foremost and Oldman Formations of the Judith River Group (Campanian) of southeastern Alberta: an illustrated guide. Provincial Museum of Alberta, Natural History Occasional Paper 25:1-54 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Common Name(s) | Beensnoeken, Gar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepisosteiformes |
External Images
Fossil Distribution
Subtaxa
| Name | Status | Common Name(s) | Fossil Occurrences | Oldest | Youngest |
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| Lepisosteioidei suborder | listed (PBDB) | 562 | 145 Ma Late Jurassic | 0 Ma Extant | |
| Lepisosteidae family | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 558 | 145 Ma Late Jurassic | 0 Ma Extant | |
| Obaichthyidae family | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Isanichthys ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 152 Ma Late Jurassic | 152 Ma Late Jurassic | |
| Lepidotes ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 229 | 247 Ma Early/Lower Triassic | 72.1 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | |
| Pliodetes genus | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Scheenstia ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 15 | 157 Ma Jurassic | 125 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous | |
Synonymy List
| Year | Name and Author |
|---|---|
| 1929 | Lepisosteiformes Hay |
| 1964 | Lepisosteiformes Estes p. 43 |
| 1989 | Lepisosteiformes Bryant p. 22 |
| 1993 | Lepisosteiformes Cvancara and Hoganson p. 13 |
| 1999 | Lepisosteiformes Weems p. 54 |
| 2001 | Lepisosteiformes Peng et al. p. 14 |
| 2001 | Lepisosteiformes Purdy et al. p. 161 |
| Year | Name and Author |
|---|---|
| 2003 | Lepisosteiformes Meyer and Zardoya |
| 2006 | Lepisosteiformes Nelson |
| 2011 | Lepisosteiformes Long p. 242 |
| 2012 | Lepisosteiformes López-Arbarello |
| 2013 | Lepisosteiformes Betancur-R. et al. |
| 2018 | Lepisosteiformes Carnevale and Godfrey p. 163 |
| 2019 | Lepisosteiformes Ebersole et al. p. 154 |
References
Florida, USA